1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to computed tomography (CT) systems, and more specifically to a clinical micro-CT system with increased spatial resolution.
2. Background
Significant hearing impairment occurs in approximately 10% of the U.S. population. Temporal bone CT (TBCT) is now widely used for localizing middle/inner ear pathology and defining the extent of such pathology as well as pathological involvement of adjacent structures such as the intra-cranial space. The resolution limitations in the performance of TBCT, however, are frequently responsible for clinical uncertainties, which can only be resolved intra-operatively, requiring the surgeon to consider multiple treatment options during the surgical intervention. Improved CT resolution is needed to improve medical research and address clinical needs.
Several CT methods have been proposed for local CT, such as λ-tomography and wavelet multi-resolution local tomography. Unfortunately, none of these methods has had a successful application in a clinical arena due to either reconstruction artifacts and/or hardware obstacles.
In parallel to the development of medical X-ray CT scanners, micro-CT devices have proliferated due to the study of small animals. Although rapid refinement in micro-CT technology has occurred, these efforts have been limited to small fields of view that are currently only applicable to the study of small animals. Most micro-CT systems employ CCD cameras and micro-focus x-ray tubes. Such systems have an image resolution on the order of 10-50 μm. Unfortunately, the current micro-CT systems are not capable of imaging of human patients, because of the increased dose and required data acquisition time.
By improving image resolution in a CT scan, mapping of the cochlear structures could occur in a micron domain. Such a system would be invaluable to electro-physiological modeling, inner ear implant design, speech signal programming, as well as diagnosis and monitoring of various sensory neural hearing diseases. Further, such resolution could be used to assist image guidance during surgery and genetic manipulation therapy. In general, future therapies of inner ear disorders will depend on much finer resolution of the inner ear anatomy than is currently available in the art.